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FIELDS OPEN IN HAWAII

February 20, 2008

Annika Sorenstam

HONOLULU, HAWAII

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you all very much for joining us. Annika, obviously you're coming off a very strong win at Turtle Bay last week. Now you're at the Fields Open looking for the second consecutive win. You also jumped to No. 2 in the world. That had to be a pretty exciting jump for you.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you. Yeah, good news. No, of course I'm very delighted about last week and getting off to a good start. A special win in many ways.
We talked about it Saturday, but, you know, I've had a little time to think about it, and I still feel great. I'm looking forward to this week. It's a beautiful place. I haven't been here in a while, and hopefully I can continue to play some good golf and go from there.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Questions for Annika.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would think so, yeah. You're right, it's different than last week. Seems like the fairways are wider. It's a more open. I would say maybe the greens are a little smaller.
The grass is a lot more -- there's more grain in them. Makes a difference around the putting surface. I'm not really sure about the wind. The last three days have been quite calm. I'm not sure what we'll ge out her. I'm sure if it picks up it makes it a little tougher.
So far it feels like two different type of courses and venues, for sure.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You know, I love it. I'm not complaining. I don't follow it that closely. I'm not really sure how the points work. I figure if I play some good golf things will take care of themselves. It's quite close there.
I know there's a gap to Lorena, but you just have to continue and play consistently well. I'm going to worry too much about it. My goal is to win the Money List and win tournaments out here, and we'll see what happens.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. I mean, he's pretty much just here to fine tune some of the things that we've been working on. You know, it's one thing to be at home practicing in an environment you're comfortable with. And then to come on Tour when it's windy in competition you start making some changes. He's just making sure that my setup, which is what we've been working on, is the way it should be. And then mostly the backswing, which is also I've been working on.
It's been good. It's good to have him here. Obviously a big week next week. You know, small checkups like that is important so I don't get too far and we have to start over and adjust too many things. It's good to have him out here.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I mean, overall I was very pleased. I was consistent and I hit a lot of fairways and greens. Just compared to last year's statistics with these three rounds, I mean, it's night and day. What I needed to do is play some good golf again. You got to post some numbers for a few days to just be solid.
That's important to me. That's how you do well long-term. I don't know if it surprised me, but it made me happy to see that and feel like down the stretch I can just play the way I've been doing for a while.
Other than that, again, I'm thrilled and I'm happy, and that gives you motivation to continue and work hard.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I hope it would help me. I guess we'll find out. This year my schedule looks very good. Coming from last year where I was rested, now I can really just pick the tournaments that I thought would be perfect for me to get ready for the majors.
I'm happy with that. This year I've had four tournaments coming into the Kraft, which is different than the past, so that's going to make a difference.
Scoring-wise we'll see, but just being more comfortable in competition, the environment, and posting scores, that's going to -- you know, that's key.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I'm looking forward to this year. I feel good and I got off to a good start. I try not to think too much ahead of what's really going on. I want to enjoy every week and play some good golf the tournaments that I'm playing.
Right now obviously my mind is not on the Open or the British Open. This is an important week. The more solid and the better I play early on, I think that will set the tone for the rest of the year.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, that's something that I cannot control. I would love to, but Lorena has played some fantastic golf the last two years. There's a big gap. You know, there's a lot of catching up to do. And then you have Suzann is playing well, Cristie is playing well.
I'm just going to focus on the things that I can control, which is my golf and my swing, so that's what I'm doing.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think you cannot look at the rankings every day and decide what kind of day you're going to have if you're 1 or 2 or 3 or 4. That's not how it works.
When I was No. 1 I loved it. I was No. 1 because I was obviously performing well for a longer period of time, and I loved T.
Now I'm in a different position. I'm in a position where I'm trying to get back to playing some good golf, and that's really what's on my mind right now. If you play well, things take care of themselves.
But, again, don't forget, there are some great players out there and they're all hungry and they all want to be the best and they're all working hard. That's what makes this competition and the rivalry between everybody so great.
It's fun to be a part of it. I haven't been there for a while, and it was nice to get off to a good start. That kind of gives me a little boost.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I was very pleased with her. I had a chance to play with her before in Japan. I thought that she handled herself very, very well. It's not easy to play in the last group so early in the season. I thought she hit some great shots. There was very few mistakes. I'm sure we'll see a lot of her this season.

Q. (No microphone.)
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I know for a fact that I'm defending in the Skins game. Other than that, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. My schedule is pretty much set through August, and then I'm going to see how things are going, how I'm feeling.
I do have a few tournaments that I have to play. The rule in the LPGA, as you all know, one out of four, and I have a few that I have to take care of. It's going to be a busy summer for me.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you all very much. Annika, thank you.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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